This invention relates to a non-alcoholic beverage with flavour properties comparable to those of conventionally brewed beer, said beverage being referred to herein and in the claims as a non-alcoholic beer. The term non-alcoholic is used to indicate that no alcohol production has taken place by fermentation and no alcohol has been added. However, this does not exclude the presence of minute amounts of alcohol originating from flavorants. The term "non-alcoholic" in this connection should therefore be interpreted as containing not more than 0.1% by volume of alcohol.
The interest in non-alcoholic beer can be explained on many grounds, including legislative restrictions with respect to the use of alcohol, e.g. in connection with traffic, religion, and reduction in the quantity of calories consumed.
When making non-alcoholic beer, a number of methods can be employed. The major methods therefor are inhibition of alcohol formation and the removal of the alcohol after the fermentation. Both methods have the drawback that a product is obtained that has no attractive flavour on account of the presence of a wortlike off-flavour, in the first case, or the absence of the characteristic beer, in the second flavour.
British patent No. 15,533 A.D.1913 describes the application of dried wort for preparing a beerlike beverage. This method has not found acceptance in actual practice, which is probably due to the imperfect flavour of the resulting product.